Child Item

What pocket hole jig for 90mm by 45mm Pine?

Hi All,

Very new to DIY but looking to make a bench seat in our living room and planning to use a strong frame made out of 90mm by 45mm pine. I was planning to connecting the pieces together using pocket hole screws and wood glue, but after searching online I'm not sure if I can find a suitable pocket hole jig. I can see there is a Kreg Pocket Hole Jig 320, but it is only designed for wood up to 38mm thickness. There I have also heard that there is a Kreg Pocket Hole Jig XL but that appears it might be for 50mm boards and larger. I'd be planning on creating the pocket holes on the smaller width side (45mm), so one is too small and the other appears too big.

Can anyone give me some advice on which one I need?

Cheers!

(Image below a model of the frame being built)

Find more posts tagged with

Tools and Materials

Building and Construction

Accepted answers

All comments

MitchellMc

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Gible983. It's terrific to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about pocket hole jigs.

While the Kreg jigs are designed for specific board thicknesses, you can still use either the smaller Kreg Pocket Hole Jig 320 or the larger Kreg Pocket Hole Jig XL for your 45mm thick pine. The key is ensuring that the angle of the drilled pocket hole places the screw exit in the middle of the timber's thickness. If you use the smaller jig designed for 38mm boards, the screw will just be slightly off-centre, but it should still function properly. Similarly, with the larger jig for 50mm boards, the hole will be slightly deeper than needed, but the screw placement will still be effective.

Alternatively, if the sides of your bench seat will be cladded, you could opt for a standard butt joint where you screw through the face of the timber into the ends of the adjoining piece. This method can also provide a strong connection without the need for pocket holes.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

Dave-1

Good morning @Gible983

Just saw your render and went "I know what that will be" before even reading the words 🙂

If you decide not to do the kreg style joining and go for just a screwed in as you will have cladding of some kind then here is one i prepared earlier 🙂

Outside timber lounge with wheels It has stood up well being under cover but outside for the past year. I should give it an annual coat of oil but have been busy (im staying with that excuse 🙂 )

Whatever you use to cover up the sides and ends will cover any screws, even the slats i used covered the joins nicely.

Dave

Gible983

Cheers @Dave-1 !
Just had a look at your designs and can see what you mean. Hadn't considered just screwing them in normally. You're right, the frame will be covered on all sides so don't really need to worry about anyone seeing the screws.
Thanks for the advice!

Gible983

Thanks @MitchellMc !
Good to hear I can get away with the Kreg Pocket Hole Jig 320. I'll be buying that jig anyway as I want to use pocket holes for the drawers I'll be installing into the bench, and I was worried I'd also need to buy the XL version. I feel happy just getting the 320 jig now. I'll see how I feel at the time, but it seems like I'll be fine using the smaller jig or still be fine just screwing the frame together normally.
Cheers for the help!

Child Item